Iranian seizure of the MSC Aries

On 13 April 2024 Iran seized MSC Aries, a Portuguese-registered and Madeira-flagged container ship owned by Gortal Shipping and leased to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The ship, with a crew of 25 people, was boarded by Iranian commandos in the Strait of Hormuz, within international waters off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and taken to Iranian waters, effectively imprisoning the crew.

The United States, United Kingdom, and Portugal (where the ship is registered) called for the ship's release immediately afterwards.

Background
Since 2019 Iran has engaged in heightened naval action against European, American and Israeli shipping, persistently attacking various vessels and seizing ships amidst political issues, dubbed "piracy" by Israeli outlets in 2023. Both the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas and article 101(1)(a) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) state that piracy occurs on the high seas. Additionally, Article 58(2) of UNCLOS states that piracy can occur in an exclusive economic zone. Violent acts against ships in the territorial sea of any State cannot be piracy under international law. Violent acts in territorial seas are armed robbery under the law of the International Maritime Organization. The event occurred during an escalation between Iran and Israel during the proxy war between Israel and Iran and Hamas. United States president Joe Biden warned Iran not to escalate the situation in the week preceding the incident.

MSC Aries
MSC Aries is a container ship built in 2020. As of 2024 the ship is Portuguese-registered and Madeira-flagged. She has a length of 366 m and a beam of 51 m. It has a and a summer tonnage of. The ship is leased by MSC from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, with MSC directing the ship's activities.

Events
On the morning of 13 April 2024, Iran's Revolutionary Guards boarded and took control of MSC Aries via helicopter, claiming that it had violated maritime law. The seizure of the ship occurred in international waters near the UAE coast. The Israeli foreign minister called the Iranian action an act of international piracy, in alignment with international law. The Iranian military subsequently took the ship and its crew to Iranian waters. The 25 crew members onboard comprised 17 Indians, four Filipinos, two Pakistanis, one Russian and one Estonian national.

On April 27, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian announced that the 24 remaining crew of MSC Aries being held were given access to their respective consulates, and would be released. On May 3, he announced that the crew was released, but the vessel remained under the control of Iran.

Reactions
Following the incident, the Israeli foreign minister called on the European Union to sanction the IRGC. Joe Biden shortened his vacation and returned to the White House for "security consultations," and defence secretary Lloyd Austin called the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and said Israel can rely on the United States. On 18 April, 16 shipping associations sent a joint letter to the United Nations requesting every effort to release the captive crew of MSC Aries, and for "enhanced military presence, missions and patrols in the region to protect seafarers".